Tuesday, December 13, 2016

28. 10 MORE KAPAMPANGAN PLACENAMES AND THEIR ORIGIN STORIES, part 2

BALITUCAN (Magalang)
San Ildefonso is the official name of this eastern barrio of Magalang, founded in 1868. Locals though, prefer calling it by its more popular, delicious-sounding name---Balitucan--derived from “balitug”,  roasted corn kernels sprinkled with sugar, that are a favorite snack items of Kapampangans. Corn and sugar are the principal produce of this place. But there exists another version why it is so named.  There are those who believe that the name came from”balituk”, or gold in Ilocano, which supports another tale that the settlers of the place where Ilocanos from Nueva Ecija. Balitucan, which straddles Tarlac, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, is the biggest barangay of Magalang.

KALEDIAN (Arayat)
Kaledian is the old name of the Camba, a barangay in Arayat. Pres. Manuel L. Quezon established a farmstead here, and named it Hacienda Caledian, after one of the major barangays of Baler, his birthplace. The name “Caledian” is believed to have been derived from “Calle diyan!” (the street over there) referring to a road that had no specific geographical boundary at that time. It is interesting to note that next to Caledian, Arayat is the barrio Suklayin”, also named by Quezon after a Baler place. Caledian was re-named Camba in later years, but Suklayin has retained its name.

DARABULBUL (Concepcion)
Another place in Tarlac with a name that often elicited embarrassed snickers in the past is Darabulbul, in existence as a barrio since 1853. People love to tell stories that the vulgar-sounding name was derived from somebody’s aunt’s public hair (“Dara” or aunt + “bulbul” or pubic hair). “Darabulbul” is an old Kapampangan term that means “the spurting or gushing of liquid like water—often with sporadic, gurgling sound. It is the name also ascribed to a river where the barrio is located, which, locals refer to as “Ilug Burat” (Prick River).  Today, Darabulbul has been renamed Corazon de Jesus.

MALATUNDUNBAKA (Porac)
Hacienda Ramona, in Dolores, Porac, is the site of important archaeological excavations conducted in the 1950s that date back to pre-colonial Pampanga. It is also where one can find a rock formation that resembled the ridge on a cattle’s back, hence it is known as “Malatundunbaka” (“like the nape of a cattle”). In ancient times, Malatundunbaka was where corpses were dried to prepare them for secondary burial. A burial jar with a skeleton and bracelets were found in the area, as noted by noted archaeologist Robert Fox.

MANIBAUG (Porac)
“Sibaung”—an insect from the beetle family that infested palms and coconut trees, gave its name to this barangay which once had swarms of them. People from nearby Bacolor would come to this place to go”manibaung” – or go hunting for such black beetles that were considered culinary delicacies, espceically when cooked adobo-style. “Manibaung” was later corrupted to “Manibaug”.  Today, the culinary practice of preparing ‘sibaung’ still is practiced in Porac.

MARGOT (Angeles)
Margot was a new settlement founded on the southern boundary of Camp Stotsenburg in the mid 1920s. The barrio with a distinct American name was envisioned to be a healthful, sanitary place where the American soldiers could seek wholesome leisure under military supervision—in contrast to “sinful” Sapang Bato. ‘Margot’ (formerly sitios Talimundoc & Tacondo), was derived from the name of the only daughter of the Commanding Officer of Camp Stotsenburg.

MINING (Angeles)
Even local historian Mariano Henson has no clues as to the origin of the name “Mining”. At first glance, the seemingly English name of this small eastern barrio of Angeles is suggestive of the presence of “mina” (mine ores), but no such documentation  exist. A more plausible story comes from recollections of longtime residents Marciano Catanghal and Agustin Pineda (aged 81 and 68 respectively, at the time of the 2000 interview), the place had no name since the Japanese Occupation. Due to the proliferation of  sweet-smelling kamuning trees lining their main road, the residents used these natural landmarks to name their barrio “Mining”, a diminutive of “kamuning”.

SEPUNG BULAON (Porac)
Sepung Bulaon was once a sitio of barrio Pias, and was separated as a barrio in 1882. In Kapampangan, “Sepung Bulaon” means “the tip of a molave tree”. The hardwood molave used to grow in profusion in the area, but one tall ancient bulaon tree stood out for its imposing height. It was only after the old tree fell that people realized its extraordinary dimension—its tip extended all the way to the location of the visita. To remember their natural landmark, the barrio was named Sepung Bulaon.

TACASAN DAPU (Candaba)
Barangay Gulap of Candaba used to have an old sitio by the name of Tacasan Dapu Legend has it that in the old days, a fishpond called Lucong always overflowed due to a river that always spilled its water into the pond—along with its resident man-eating crocodile. The crocodile always used this spillway to come and go, hence the name, “Tacasan Dapu”. This became an annual occurrence so the residents , fearful of the crocodile’s presence, moved to a new location, depopulating the sitio.

TINANG (Concepcion)
The barrio’s name was actually the nickname of a certain Maria Cristina, the kind wife of a German settler who cleared the area and began a farmhouse there in the 1900s—hence the early name, ‘Caingin Aleman’. After some time,  the place was called simply “Tinang” after the gracious “Indang Tinang”. However, as early as 1853, there was already a barrio by that name in Magalang-Concepcion town, thus dispelling this romantic origin story. This barrio was consolidated with 5 others to form barangay San Miguel during the American occupation.

Sources:
Cojuangco, Tingting. TARLAC
Dizon, Lino L. , AMLAT, Kapampangan Local History Contours in Tarlac and Pampanga, Center for TarlaqueƱo Studies, Tarlac State University, 2000.
Dizon, Lino L. East of Pinatubo: Former recollect Missions in Tarlac and Pampanga (1712-1898), Museo Archivo Recoletos,  Center for TarlaqueƱo Studies, Tarlac State University, 1998.
Kasaysayang Local: Angeles City, by Zaide Foundation and Dept. of Education, Culture and Sports, All-Nations Publishing, Quezon City, 2000.
Mallari, Joel P. Etymology of Place Names in San Fernando. http://tarebalakdiscovery.blogspot.com/2008/01/baltangan-da-ring-memalen-ning-san.html
Sibug, Edgardo C. Porac, A Rancheria at Batiauan 1594-2004, Municipal Government of Porac, 2006.
Batang Baler:http://www.batangbaler.net/2010/03/28/caledian-and-suklayin/
Historical Data Papers of Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe,

Photo Sources
Balitucan: cornicks: sweetcherriepie.com
Sepung Bulaon: Molave tree, www.flickr.com
Tinang: www.oxpal.com (costumes)
Map of Margot and Mining: Kasaysayang Local: Angeles City
Map of Concepcion: Tarlac
All other maps: google maps

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